Dr. Kimberly Councill is proud to be the Director of the School of Music at The University of Utah! Prior to arriving in Utah in 2022, Dr. Councill served as the Associate Dean of Faculty for the Arts and Humanities Division of the College of Arts and Sciences and a Professor of Music with an emphasis in Music Education at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Dr. Councill was also an Associate Professor of Music and the Coordinator of Music Education at Susquehanna University; an Adjunct Professor of Clarinet at the University of North Carolina at Asheville; a band, choir, and general music teacher in the public schools of North Carolina; and a private and group music lesson instructor at The Ohio State School for the Blind. For over 15 years, Dr. Councill dedicated her time as a volunteer music teacher for central Pennsylvania preschoolers and kindergarteners; directed elementary and middle school music camps; and created “MUSE” (Musical Understanding in Special Education), a unique musical outreach program for children with a variety of physical, emotional, behavioral, and intellectual needs.

Dr. Councill’s research, which has been presented at state, regional, national, and international conferences and published in the Journal of Research in Music Education, Update, Music Educators Journal, International Journal of Music Education, PMEA News, North Carolina Music Educator, and the Florida Music Educator’s Journal, is focused on undergraduate music education curriculum development and implementation; music teacher recruitment; the inclusion of special learners into the music classroom; and the skills, expectations, and requirements of successful student teaching and seminar experiences. Dr. Councill remains active in numerous state and national music education organizations having served as a district president for the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA), the Eastern Division Representative for the Society for Music Teacher Education (SMTE), and currently as a member of the editorial boards for the Music Educators Journal and Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education. She has also conducted numerous band and choral festivals during her time in Pennsylvania and has successfully guided dozens of undergraduate researchers through projects spanning music and health, curriculum development, inter-disciplinary arts education, and the role of music education in American and Australian public schools. Dr. Councill has received multiple awards for distinguished teaching and service to the music education profession including the Susquehanna University Distinguished Teaching Award, two Susquehanna University “Whatever It Takes” awards for her role as stage manager in the university’s 150th anniversary celebration at Carnegie Hall and for her service to students, and the District 8 PMEA Citation of Excellence Award for Outstanding Contribution to Higher Education. In 2024, Dr. Councill was honored to be chosen as a Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient for the University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s College of Visual and Performing Arts.